Forget multi-tasking, push background notification is where it’s at. With the limited resources available to mobile devices, running multiple applications in the background can tax the CPU, drain the battery faster, and lead to system instability as multiple applications fight for memory allottment and CPU cycles. Apple has seeded a new iPhone 2.1 OS SDK beta [...]

Google is the last company we would have expected to botch a platform launch . But, in hindsight, they may have rushed things a bit more than would have been prudent. After all, there’s a fair amount of heat coming from Cupertino, and we’re sure Google didn’t want to get burned by holding off on Android any longer than they did. There’s a problem. Developers are getting frustrated trying to deal with the Android SDK ’s bugs and lack of documentation. Furthermore, Google’s ommission of a tracking system for reported issues is hindering the Android development push. The general feeling in the land of Android-development is that the platform just isn’t ready to the big-time. Bugs have to be ironed out, documentation needs to be published, and an issue-tracking system needs to be developed. Still, Ars Technica’s Ryan Paul took a whack at the Android SDK and found that “Despite some of the bugs and limitations in the API, it is definitely a viable and effective platform for application development.” He goes on to say that the API is “conducive to rapid application development, but there are still some gaps… it doesn’t make it easy to create applications that have a really polished look and feel.” Hey Google, get that documentation out quick. Apple’s iPhone SDK is looming and you just don’t have the time to fiddle with whatever pet-projects are responsible for this Android-oversight. We can’t wait for those first Android devices next year, they better not be filled with bugs (or look huge/ugly , for that matter)! [Via: Ars Technica ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Apple starts seeding official iPhone SDK to a select few developersShut Up: You are not allowed to praise or slam Android until the SDK comes outGooge cultivating Android development community with $10 million petri-dishHTC plans to release 2 to 3 Android based devices in 2008Google will be presenting Android and running thru [...]

We can’t tell you how much we love grainy spy-shots and questionable rumors. Like this one, for example. The image you see to the right shows what looks to be a TomTom-made GPS module plugged in to the bottom of an iPhone, with GPS navigation prompts displayed on the screen. With the iPhone SDK slated for a February release and widely rumored to already be available to a select few developers , it’s entirely feasible that TomTom has been “tap-tapped” to bring GPS functionality to the iPhone by way of an official “Made for iPhone” accessory. On the flip-side, we’ve seen many a rumor come and go - which is to say, completely fail to materialize. For what it’s worth, we don’t see any reason why Apple wouldn’t want to offer GPS navigation on the iPhone, and TomTom would be a logical choice for Apple. That is, it would be a perfect stop-gap until the 3G iPhone with GPS launches - right? [Via: Engadget Mobile ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Garmin and Tomtom to make phones?Garmin and TomTom to launch their own GPS-enabled phones this year?Deal: Buy a Treo and get a free TomTom GPSiPhone to get a GPS in 2008Mio plans to go mobile next year

It seems that Apple has heard our pleas to stop talking it up and get their official iPhone SDK out into developers’ hands. Well, in all actuality, Apple probably wasn’t responding to our singular call for the iPhone SDK, but we’ll take what we can get. Electronista is reporting that Apple has started seeding the official iPhone SDK to a select few developers. An extremely lucky few software developers are reportedly getting rough-draft versions of the iPhone and iPod Touch Software Development Kit. We’re not sure exactly what comprises the iPhone SDK, but the “special” few that have the pleasure of using the SDK have confirmed that it creates native applications and works in much the same way as Google’s OpenSocial - acting as a middle-man between the iPhone OS and the programmer. However, programming applications for the iPhone OS will not be the same as on the Mac OS X - the SDK has it limits. Again, details on the SDK’s capabilities are not yet known - the developers have reportedly only been working on the SDK for a couple weeks. And, as such, there is no available release date for any iPhone SDK-sourced applications. It makes sense for Apple to choose a few high-level developers to get a head-start on programming native applications for the iPhone prior to the official iPhone SDK release in February. Having native applications up and running at the time of the iPhone SDK’s release is a prudent move on Apple’s part. We suppose Apple learned from Google’s Android announcement - you know, the super-hyped mobile phone platform from Google that soon lost steam and fizzled out due to lack of marketable hardware and software. Apple could keep third-party iPhone applications on the hype-radar by releasing working applications at the time of the SDK’s launch. Bring on the iPhone SDK! [Via: Electronista ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Apple prepping iPhone SDK for January release?Apple goes live with iPhone Dev Center - web apps only for nowApple working on offline storage for iPhone Safari browser-based applications?Apple iPhone will launch only in Apple Stores and select AT&T storesiPhone SDK to be announced at WWDC?

The Apple iPhone SDK is likely coming early next year, that much we know . And, as Apple’s Vice President of Hardware Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak pointed out in an interview with Fortune, Steve Jobs is planning to require any third-party iPhone applications to use a digital signature - much like Nokia requires for any third-party applications designed for their phones. That way, if some eager-but-novice iPhone developer releases some wonky software, we’ll be able to track down exactly what’s causing the problem - the same applies to malicious applications. And, in classic pompous-Apple style, Joswiak pointed out that Apple is staying ahead of their competitors, and that they “tend to put the cross hairs on where we are now, and by the time they come up with a product that tries to match where we are now, we’re beyond them. We’re one or two generations beyond, moving faster than they are.” Thanks for the tip. We already love and use your products, there’s no need to get all uppity about it - but, then again, Apple’s elitist attitude has been working pretty damn well so far. Just release the iPhone SDK already and stop talking it up, will ya? [Via: MacRumors ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Steve Jobs: You want an iPhone SDK? Wait until FebruaryApple launches iPhone web-app portal - find all iPhone web-apps through Apple's catalogueApple working on offline storage for iPhone Safari browser-based applications?Apple prepping iPhone SDK for January release?Apple to require iTunes subscription for iPhone

Petri-dishes are great for cultivating bacterial communities- they provide all nutrients that appeal to growing colonies of (usually) bacteria. And, now Google’s using their own petri-dish of sorts to cultivate the Android development community - except Google’s petri-dish is filled with $10 million of cold, hard, cash. Google’s calling this petri-dish the “Android Developer Challenge.” Google is putting up $10 million to encourage developers to embrace Android and submit their own Android-software to the newly minted dev community. Anyone is eligible to take a piece of Google’s $10 million pie (or petri-dish, to continue with our analogy), so amateur and professional coders alike are welcome to mess around with the fresh Android SDK . Here’s how the $10 million prize pool will be divvied up:

• Cash prizes range from $25,000 to $275,000
• $10 million will be split up between two competitions - Challenge I and II
• Challenge I will be open from Jan. 2 through March 3, 2008
• 50 Challenge I winners will be picked at the end of March and will receive $25,000
• The 50 winners will compete for 10 prizes worth $100,000 each and 10 prizes worth $275,000 each
• Challenge II will launch after the first batch of Android handsets launches in mid-2008

So, if you’ve been thinking of tinkering with Android (for profit or fun), here’s even more incentive to see what you can do with the Linux-based platform. Questions? Drop us a line. Source ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:HTC could ship 1 million Android handsets in 2008Palm says "NO" to AndroidSymbian answers to Android threat: We've heard it all before!Android is out and I feel let down, almost embarrassed I hyped it so muchShut Up: You are not allowed to praise or slam Android until the SDK comes out